Oculus: Goodbye Forever
by bklue18
Summary: After Tim got arrested for supposedly killing his sister, he has decided to live out the rest of his life burying the happenings of that night. But, what happens when a young reporter turns up and tells him she believes him?
1. I Believe You

"Miss Lee?"

She stood up from her seat, outside the day room; readjusting her blouse.

"Yes, that's me." She said

The nurse looked her up and down before saying, "He's in the dayroom. You will only have 5 minutes with him. He is due for his therapy session after this."

She smiled and nodded, "Sure. 5 minutes."

As soon as the agreement was made, the warden standing guard opened the door for her. She smiled gratefully at the warden before walking in. She scanned the dayroom of patients till she found the person she was looking for.

* * *

Tim stared through the window of the dayroom, wondering what life would have been like if the dreaded night's events didn't happen. It was supposed to be a new life with everything that happened when he was 10 years old far behind him.

He shouldn't have listened to Kaylie. He shouldn't have gone back in. But if he didn't, he would have been forever trapped in a lie he was made to have thought happened.

"Russell. You've got a visitor."

The warden snapped him out of his own thoughts and he turned to see a girl, standing next to the warden. She wasn't older than him. In fact, she was just about his age. He didn't know who she was and he wasn't going to find out. Ever since his story made the papers, there have been many visits from girls who were interested to find out about him. Some even pledging to be his as soon as he gets out.

"Tony, I don't know who this person is." Tim said  
"But I know who you are." She said

Tim sighed, "As do many of the other girls who come in here. For the hundredth time, I am not interested."

She looked at Tony and whispered, "He's feeling a little stressed out… I dumped him in high school so he is pretty pissed with me since then. Could you let us talk in private for a while?"

"Fine. But if he starts behaving funny, you let me know." Tony said

She nodded and he moved towards the other corner of the dayroom, out of earshot. After which, she turned to look at Tim.

"Look, I know you've been harassed ever since you got admitted for the second time. But, trust me. I'm not like the other girls." She said

Tim looked at her, "That's what number 51 said."

She sighed, "My name is Ryley Lee - spelt with a y instead of an i."

"Nice to meet you, Ryley Lee - spelt with a y instead of an i. But, I'm not interested in another girl pledging herself to me." Tim said

She cocked an eyebrow, "Okay, first of all, nice to meet you. Secondly, eww. I am not here for that. I'm a reporter with The New York Times and I'm here to investigate your side of the story."

"My side of the story?" Tim said  
"Your last words after being arrested were that 'the mirror did it'." Ryley said  
"I was delusional." Tim said

Ryley shook her head, "No, you were not."

"Yes, I was." Tim said, "The doctors helped me out and I now know that I was delusional."

"No. You're not. I believe what you said." Ryley said

Just as Tim was beginning to process what she had just told him, Tony came back over.

"Sorry miss. Time's up." Tony said

"Oh, that's alright Tony. I managed to get him to not be pissed with me anymore." Ryley said, "In fact, Tim here told me to come back tomorrow. I think we're gonna be friends again."

Tim looked at her and she gave him a look that told him to go with it.

"Um, yeah. Could you tell Dr Graham that I'd love to have a private chat with my friend?" Tim asked  
"I'll ask but no promises." Tony said

Ryley smiled, "It is definitely better than nothing. Thank you, Tony!"

The big guy smiled at the two of them before ushering Ryley out of the dayroom. But, before she left, she slipped a piece of paper into Tim's hands.

As soon as the door to the dayroom closed, Tim turned back to the window - faking interest in the outside as he slowly opened the note. He looked down and read the note. Despite the scribbly writing; from the haste Ryley was in, he was able to make out the words.

In bold black were the words,

**'I believe you. I've seen it too.'**


	2. Here's My Story

Tim paced the room Doctor Graham had allowed him to use. He was anxious to hear what Ryley had to say. After all that happened to him, he always thought he was alone in the world. But suddenly, this girl pops up and tells him that she's seen it too? It was more than he could hope for – a person who genuinely understood what he was going through.

The door to the room opened and Tony stood by the door as Ryley walked in with a backpack on her shoulders.

"There he is." Tony said, "Doctor Graham said this is good for him. So he's given you two about 3 hours to catch up. But, if you need any more time, let me know."

Ryley turned and smiled, "Three hours is good enough, thanks Tony."

Tony smiled at Ryley and gave her a curt nod before closing the door behind him. As soon as the door closed, Ryley stepped forward.

"Hi." Ryley said, "So, you read the note?"

"Why else would I be here?" Tim asked

"Right." Ryley said, "Look, I'm not the enemy here. The mirror is. And I assure you, I'm not here to waste your time. Like what the note says, I have seen it."

"What do you mean? You had it in your possession?" Tim asked  
"Wouldn't I be so lucky, right? But, no. It wasn't in my possession. But, my uncle did have it." Ryley replied  
"How would you have seen it then?" Tim asked

Ryley sighed and gestured to the sofa, "Take a seat. It's gonna be a long story."

* * *

_September 1993 – one year after the Russell's incident_

"Ryley! Can you help your cousin with the boxes?"

A 10-year old Ryley smiled, "Sure, aunt Diana."

Her aunt smiled at her as Ryley raced out to the yard to help her cousin pick up one of the boxes off the floor.

"You know, I can handle this by myself." Her cousin, Brittany said  
"I know, but two's always better than one, right?" Ryley said

Brittany gave Ryley a toothy smile as the two made their way up the front porch, just as her uncle, Brittany's dad came out the front door.

"Whoa! Look at these two strong ladies! I've never seen two 10-year olds so strong before!"

The two girls giggled as he reached over to help them with the box but pretended to fall at the extreme weight of it.

"Wow! Even I can't lift it! You two are amazing!" He said

The girls laughed as Brittany said, "Dad, these are just my toys."

"Your toys must weigh a ton then! I can barely lift them!" He said, "I better go get the other lighter items since I'm not as strong as the mighty Brittany and Ryley!"

The girls giggled as he walked off the porch towards the back of the moving truck. They both made their way to Brittany's bedroom and placed the box on the ground. The two girls collapsed on Brittany's bed for a breather just as they heard the two adults downstairs.

The girls looked at each other as they heard the adults yelling instructions at each other, as if moving something very heavy into the house. As if telepathically agreeing with each other, the two of them leapt of the bed and headed towards the staircase railing outside of Brittany's room.

Through the space between the railings, the two girls saw Brittany's parents moving something big in. They couldn't see what it was since it had a cloth covering it, but, whatever it was, it seemed precious.

"What's that?" Ryley whispered to Brittany

Brittany shrugged, "I don't know… I've never seen it before."

"Did Uncle Brian buy it for the house?" Ryley asked  
"Maybe… I heard mommy saying she wanted something new for the house." Brittany said  
"Honey, turn to the left! We'll put it by the fireplace." Uncle Brian said

Aunt Diana nodded and made the left turn. The girls watched till they disappeared from view. As they looked at each other questioningly, they heard their names being called from downstairs.

"BRITTANY! RYLEY! COME ON DOWN! WE'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU!"

The girls looked at each other, excitement slowly clouding their brains. They leapt up with joy and hurried down the stairs, racing into the living room.

Standing in front of the newly mounted item, aunt Diana and uncle Brian beamed at them with as much excitement.

"Girls, we want you to see something we just bought!" Aunt Diana said, "We picked it out when we left you with your nana."

"Are you girls excited? Wanna see what it is?" Uncle Brian asked  
"YES!" The two girls exclaimed

Aunt Diana and uncle Brian both had their hand on the cloth. Turning to the girls, they both counted '1.. 2.. 3!' before tugging hard on the cloth. The cloth slowly moved down the item rapidly and right before their eyes stood an antique mirror.

"Whoa…" Brittany said

Ryley took in the look of the mirror and almost immediately felt uncomfortable.

"Well? What do you think?" Aunt Diana asked  
"It's so cool!" Brittany exclaimed

Ryley stared at it, fear starting to grow within her for no reason.

"What about you, Ryley?" Uncle Brian asked

She didn't answer.

"Ryley?" Aunt Diana said, "Are you okay?"

Worried that something is happening to their niece, uncle Brian immediately put a hand to her forehead, snapping Ryley out of her self-induced trance.

"Are you okay, Ryley? Do you want me to call your parents?" Uncle Brian asked  
"No… I'm okay.." Ryley replied  
"Alright. Maybe you've had too much excitement for today. Let's get you fed." Uncle Brian said

Ryley nodded as her uncle took her hand and led her towards the kitchen. As she walked towards the kitchen, she turned around to look at the mirror again. Only this time, she noticed a crack at the right corner of the mirror. She obviously didn't know how it got there but she didn't have a good feeling about it.

* * *

"Ryley? Are you okay?"

She looked up and sitting in front of her was Tim, looking at her worriedly.

"What happened?" Ryley asked  
"You were talking about the mirror in the house and then you started crying." Tim replied

Ryley felt the area around her eyes and they were wet with tears.

"If you're not comfortable to continue, it's alright." Tim said

Ryley shook her head, "No. I'm good. You need to know what I know and I'm going to finish telling my story."


	3. What Happened Next

The 10-year old Ryley woke up to the sound of silence.

She wasn't sure what caused her to wake from her slumber but being an inquisitive kid, it didn't matter. She sat up in her bed, squinting at the darkness. She looked in the direction of her cousin's bed but she wasn't up. But, that didn't stop her from calling out to her.

"Brittany…" Ryley called out softly, "Brittany? Are you awake?"

Brittany moved in her bed, turning over but not waking up. Ryley decided to go down to the kitchen anyway to get a glass of water since she was feeling rather thirsty. She walked down the stairs slowly, so as not to wake anyone up.

She was on her last step on the stairs when she saw the flickering shadow of some sort of light coming from the sitting room, where the fireplace was. Curious, Ryley got off the last step and walked quietly in the direction of the fireplace. She wasn't sure what she was going to find but she had mentally prepared herself to see her aunt and uncle sitting on the couch, reading a book – since everyone in the family were bookworms. But the sight that greeted her instead, made her stop dead in her tracks.

Aunt Diana stood in front of the newly installed mirror, as if she was frozen, with her hands by her side. Ryley couldn't see what she was doing from the position she was standing but she didn't have the desire to move for a better view. She wanted to call out to her but she hesitated. Ryley felt that something wasn't right. The air in the room suddenly seemed so stifling.

So, instead of continuing on her path to get the glass of water, Ryley opted to return to her bed. Fear slowly crept into her consciousness as she back tracked slowly towards the stair case, not wanting to disturb her aunt. Something inside her was telling her that the lady standing in front of the mirror wasn't her aunt and she best get out of there as soon as she could.

She almost reached the stairs when her butt bumped into the side table. The keys in the bowl jiggled and Ryley froze in panic.

"Please, no…" Ryley whispered to herself.

She slowly looked up and her eyes met with those of her aunt which were locked in a sinister gaze. Ryley gave herself no time to panic as she scrambled up the stairs and into her cousin's room, locking the door behind her. She slid to the floor against the door and hugged her knees to herself.

What just happened? Was that her aunt Diana? It looked like her but it felt like it wasn't really her. Ryley felt all the questions swim around in her mind and closed her eyes tight. She didn't move an inch as she sat rooted to the spot, cradling herself as a way of comfort and slowly rocking herself to sleep.

* * *

"Ryley?"

She jerked awake, her sudden movement causing her shoulders to hit the door. She looked at her cousin, who stepped back slightly in surprise at her reaction.

"Ryley? Are you okay?" Brittany asked.

Ryley blinked a couple of times, trying to regain her bearings as she nodded. "Yeah..."

"Are you sure? Have you been sleeping like this the whole night?" Brittany asked with genuine concern.

Ryley nodded slowly, feeling her muscles ache from the position she had kept by the door. As she closed her eyes, the image of her aunt's sinister look came back to her. Ryley opened her eyes immediately as Brittany sat down next to her.

"What happened, Ryley?" Brittany asked. "Did something happen? You don't look so good… We should go tell daddy or mommy that you are not feeling well."

Ryley shook her head. "We can't…"

Brittany sensed Ryley's hesitation and moved to hold her hand. "Don't worry. Mommy and daddy will bring you to the doctor."

"Brittany… I am not sick. I just-I think something's wrong with aunt Diana." Ryley said.

Her cousin frowned. "What do you mean?"

Ryley clasped her hands together tightly. "I was going to get a glass of water to drink last night… When I came down, I saw Aunt Diana standing in front of the mirror."

"The one daddy bought?" Brittany asked. Ryley nodded as she squeezed her own left hand tighter.

Brittany shook her head in disbelief. "Why would mommy be standing in front of that mirror in the middle of the night?"

Ryley shrugged. "I don't know. But you have to believe me, Brittany. What I saw was real. I thought I could go back up without making a sound but I accidentally bumped into the table with the keys and she turned around."

Brittany gave her a slightly impish grin. "Did mommy scold you? Is that why you are acting like this?"

"No." Ryley said. "Brittany, she didn't say anything. She just… stared at me."

"What do you mean stared at you? Was mommy sleepwalking?" Brittany asked.

Ryley shook her head, "No… She wasn't."

"Well, maybe you were tired and seeing things." Brittany said.  
"I wasn't! Okay, if you don't believe me, let's ask Aunt Diana about it." Ryley said.

* * *

The two girls headed down for breakfast and Brian smiled seeing them arrive.

"There you two are…" Uncle Brian said. "I was beginning to think you two overslept."

Ryley stopped walking for a bit as soon as she saw Aunt Diana. Brittany stopped and looked at Ryley. "Come on."

Aunt Diana turned to the girls. "We've got scrambled eggs and pancakes. Your favorite combination, Ryley."

Brittany lightly nudged Ryley and she started walking towards the table. They took their seats and as soon as Aunt Diana filled her plate, Ryley didn't feel like eating anymore. Her mind started to race through the possibilities of bringing up what she saw the night before. But before she could, her uncle spoke.

"Honey, where did you get that?" Uncle Brian asked.

Aunt Diana put down the pan with the scrambled eggs to examine her left hand. She shrugged, "I don't know… I think I got it this morning when I was making breakfast?"

Uncle Brian took a hold of Aunt Diana's hand and looked at the wound a little closer.

"It doesn't look like an injury you get in the kitchen…" He said. "It looks like you scratched yourself."

Aunt Diana took back her hand and waved her husband's worry away like it was some sort of bad air. "Nonsense. I have never injured myself in my sleep before. I must have gotten this when I was being careless. It's noting."

Brittany looked at Ryley, who looked intently at Aunt Diana's left hand. She remembered seeing that wound last night and by the looks of it, the wound looked fresh when Aunt Diana stood in front of the mirror.

Not being able to eat at all, Ryley stood up to excuse herself.

"Uncle Brian, Aunt Diana… I'm not feeling very hungry. Can I borrow the phone to call my mom?" Ryley asked.

Although slightly confused with his niece's sudden loss of appetite, Uncle Brian nodded. "The phone's in the study."

Ryley gave them a small smile before heading towards the study. As she walked pass the mirror towards the study, she couldn't help but feel more uncomfortable then before. She shook her head and hurriedly made her way to the study, not wanting to be in the presence of the mirror another second longer.

* * *

That night, Ryley packed up her suitcase with Brittany's help. She had called her parents to tell them that she wasn't feeling very comfortable living away from them anymore and her mother immediately cut short their weekend trip to come get her the next morning.

"Are you really going to go?" Brittany asked.

Ryley nodded. "Yes. I don't like the mirror."

"It's just a mirror, Ryley. What could happen?" Brittany said, sitting down on the bed next to Ryley's suitcase.

Ryley closed her suitcase and shook her head. "I don't want to know what will happen. Whatever it is, I think there is something wrong with that mirror. Did you see that crack by the corner?"

"Maybe someone dropped the mirror before that." Brittany said.  
"What makes you think that?" Ryley said.

Brittany shrugged, "The mirror looks old. There's bound to be someone who dropped the mirror while carrying it."

"If they did that, the mirror would have a bigger crack, right? Not a small crack at the corner." Ryley said.

Brittany sighed. "Alright, alright… I'm going to miss you."

"Me too." Ryley said. "Let's get some sleep."

* * *

"Ryley! Brittany! Wake up!"

The two girls were rudely awakened by a male voice and they sat up to see Uncle Brian standing by their beds.

"Daddy?" Brittany said.  
"Get up, quick!" Uncle Brian said.  
"What's going on, Uncle Brian?" Ryley asked.

He pushed the two girls into the closet. "Stay in here and don't make a sound. Whatever happens, don't open this door. Do you understand?"

"Daddy?" Brittany said, tears in her eyes. "You are scaring me."

Uncle Brian looked at her and kissed her on the top of her head. "I love you, bunny."

Brittany tried to hold on to her father's arm but he pulled it out of her grasp and closed the door. The cousins huddled close together as they heard Uncle Brian's footsteps descend down the staircase. Despite their growing fear, they kept quiet as they tried to listen in on what was happening in the house.

"Diana, what are you doing?"  
"It's none of your business."  
"Diana. Stop it. Give me the knife."  
"Why? So you can tell me what to do again?"  
"What are you talking about?"  
"I'm sick of you telling me to do this and telling me to do that. I am your wife not your slave."  
"Diana… Let's talk about this. Put the knife away. You are going to scare the girls."  
"Scare the girls? Not if I got rid of you."  
"What? Don't.. St-"

Ryley covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She couldn't see what was happening but she had a few guesses on what transpired.

Silence crept into the house for a few seconds.

"I said I didn't like you telling me what to do."

Brittany looked at her cousin, tears streaming down her face. "Where's daddy? Did mommy kill daddy?"

Ryley shook her head, tears staining her cheek too. "I don't know…"

"I need to go and see!" Brittany said.  
"No, Brittany. Don't!" Ryley said.

She grabbed onto her cousin's hand but Brittany forcefully pulled Ryley's hand off her arm. She pushed open the door and ran down the staircase. Worried, Ryley followed after. She stopped at the top of the staircase as she got a good look of what had happened.

Her uncle lay there in a pool of blood with Aunt Diana sitting on top of the body. Her clothes were stained crimson red and the knife in her hand glistened with fresh blood. Brittany was standing at the bottom of the staircase, shock overcoming her.

"Mommy?" Brittany said.

Her mother looked up at her and smiled. "Hi honey."

"You killed daddy." Brittany said.

"Oh, oh, no honey… I-I…"

Aunt Diana looked around her, seemingly confused at what had happened. She looked back at her daughter and opened up her arms.

"Come here, honey… I was trying to save daddy. But, he ran into the knife." She said.

Ryley was frozen in fear. She wanted to run out of the house but she couldn't do anything. Her feet stuck to the ground.

Brittany looked at her mother and hesitated. She just lost her father and she didn't want to lose her mother. Slowly, Brittany went forward to hug her mother. That was when she saw the mirror, leaning against the wall.

"Mommy… Why is the mirror here?" Brittany asked.  
"Sssh. It's here to watch us." Diana replied.

Before Brittany could say anything else, her mother lifted the knife and stabbed her in the back. Ryley screamed loudly and her aunt looked up at her. Motivated by fear and not wanting her aunt to catch her, she ran back into the closet and closed the doors, covering her ears in the process.

She leaned against the closet doors with her eyes closed. She didn't want to know what was going to happen to her next. Ryley kept praying for it to just be a nightmare but everything about it seemed so real. Just as she felt the tears stream down her face, she heard her name being called.

"Ryley… Tell them I'm sorry."

That was the last words she heard before there was silence and Ryley fainted due to shock.

* * *

"I found her!"

Ryley woke up to see a police officer kneeling beside her. The closet doors were open and she could see a couple of police officers in Brittany's room.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

She didn't reply.

"I think she's in shock. We're gonna need a paramedic here." The police officer said.

Within two minutes, the paramedics came up to where Ryley was and got her onto the gurney with the oxygen mask over her face.

"You're going to be okay." The female paramedic said. "Just keep your eyes on me, okay?"

Ryley nodded and the paramedics brought the gurney out of the room and down the stairs. As they moved pass where her uncle's body was, Ryley broke eye contact with the paramedic as her gaze wandered over to where Brittany lay. She quickly looked away, only to see her aunt's body right in front of the mirror, with the knife sticking out from her stomach.

She leaned back against the pillow on the gurney and started to feel her pulse race.

"She's going into shock again. Guys, we need to get her out of here, fast!" The female paramedic said.

She looked back at Ryley, "Hey, stay with me sweetie. We can't lose you."

Ryley couldn't reply as she lost consciousness just as she saw her panicking mother run up to her.


	4. A Proposition

Ryley looked at Tim, blinking away the tears and memory of the event that happened. Even though it happened years ago, she could never forget her aunt kneeling in front of the mirror.

Tim opened his mouth to speak, but each time he did, he would second-guess the words he wanted to use. He had experienced the same cruel event the mirror put them through, but the only difference was he had his sister with him. She had no one.

"Tim?"

He snapped out of his own thoughts and looked at Ryley. "Uh-yeah.. Sorry. I-I'm trying to find the right words to say here."

Ryley gave a small laugh in disbelief. "There is no right words to say to anyone who's been through what we have."

"Look, I'm not here to hold your hands and sing kumbaya with you while we remininse about a mirror that ruined our lives."

Tim held back the urge to chuckle at her description of the scenario that they were in and sat up straight. "I know. You're here for the article."

"Oh. Right." She said.

He frowned. "You're not a reporter with The New York Times here to do a story about me?"

"W-Well... Yes and no." Ryley bit her lip. "I _am_ a reporter with The New York Times but I didn't come here to do a story about you. That's just a cover."

"For?" Tim asked.  
"Getting you out of here." Ryley replied.

Tim immediately stood up from where he was sitting and walked across the room. "You're crazy."

"I am not. I am going to get you out of here." Ryley said.  
"How? By breaking me out? In case you haven't realized, this is a mental institution. I believe you'll have 5 male guards hold you down even before leaving." Tim said.

Ryley rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid. Getting you out of here didn't mean break you out of an asylum. I'm here with a proposal."

He cocked an eyebrow and waited for her to continue.

"I spoke to a friend of mine who says she can have you checked out of the institution and placed under her care." She said.

Tim shook his head, unable to process the information Ryley was giving him.

"In case you don't realize, I am in this facility because prison wasn't an option for me. You think they are going to let you and your friend have me checked out?" Tim said.

"Well, no." Ryley said. "Unless you have a friend who's a DA and another friend who is a clinical psychologist."

He almost wanted to believe he could get out. It was his only chance to stop pretending he was the problem. Standing here in front of him was his ticket out. So, why was he hesitating?

She stood up and moved closer to him. "Look. I know this is probably the weirdest approach you've ever experienced from someone you hardly know but I need to get you out of this place if we're ever going to find answers."

"Answers?" He said.

"About the mirror." She said. "I've been doing some research about it and I finally narrowed down some leads."

He sighed and looked at her. "So your next move is to track it down and do an experiment on it."

"What? No, I-"

Tim held up his hand and stopped her from continuing. "I've been down that road before and let me tell you, it doesn't end well. Heck, that's actually the reason why I'm here."

"But I-"

He walked over to the door and pounded 2 times, loud enough for Tony to hear.

"Wait. Just hear me out." Ryley said.

The door opened.

"I'm done, Tony." Tim said. "I'm ready to head back to my room now."

Tony nodded at him and made way for him to exit before following behind. Ryley hurriedly grabbed her backpack and ran out of the room. She just about caught a glimpse of Tim's back but he was too far off for her to say what she wanted to say without getting caught. She sighed and pulled off her visitor's badge in anger.

She needed to convince him to accept her proposition. Ryley thought for a bit before pulling her iPhone out. She sent a quick text to her friend before walking to the reception to return her badge.

Since Plan A didn't work, it was time to put Plan B, or what could be considered part of a plan, into action.


End file.
